The center of world football has always been in Europe. The dream of almost every player on this planet is to play for a top club on the “old continent” and thus be able to get involved in the race for the Champions League, Europe’s top club competition. The Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and the German Bundesliga are the leagues that sell their TV rights around the world for huge sums. Interest in leagues on other continents is limited internationally.
Only when the careers of the football superstars in Europe come to an end does the step into an “exotic” league take place. Mostly to make the sport more popular there. And players can rub their hands financially. Recent example: Lionel Messi, who made the move to the USA at the age of 36. Already the big one Franz Beckenbauer ended his career in 1983 at the age of 38 in New York, where he played between 1977 and 1980. Also the already deceased Brazilian soccer legend First moved to New York at the age of 35. Lothar Matthäus (then 39), David Beckham (32), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (37) or Thierry Henry (33) moved across the pond in their 30s. Admittedly, the attention for Major League Soccer (MLS) increased and increases due to well-known transfers. So far, however, the league has not really wanted to “hit” in Europe.
The same applies to India’s Super League, which was held for the first time in 2014. With the French world and European champion Robert Pires (then 41), Italy’s world champion Alessandro Del Piero (40), Ex-Arsenal-Star Freddie Ljungberg (38) you wanted to push the football league. In India itself, the games were well received, but outside of the 1.4 billion-inhabitant state hardly to this day – not even the football veterans have changed that.
Stars as a means to an end
The Chinese Super League, founded in 2004, also attracts(ed) international stars with high salaries. The aim of the league is to make the game in the People’s Republic bigger with a limited number of legionnaires (a maximum of three non-Chinese players may play per team) and to inspire our own talents – in order to be able to form a strong national team. Only once has a Chinese men’s national team made it to a World Cup, which was in 2002. And yet: A few years ago, the government declared the world championship title as a goal. By 2028, a year in which there is no World Cup at all, you should become world champion. Mission failed! Unless there is a big sensation in 2026. But that is not to be assumed.
And that, although not only discarded ex-world stars are active in Asia. The Brazilian is currently the most valuable player in the league Oscar, who joined from Chelsea six years ago when he was 28 at the time. Austria’s team player Marko Arnautovic went from England to China as a 30-year-old, made good money there and has been playing in Italy again since 2021. “Arnie” has refuted the thesis that careers end with an engagement in a “money league”. As have other players in the US or Asia who have returned to Europe.
Arabia as a football destination modern again
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has emerged as the latest football destination for players in the autumn of their careers. The 38 year old Cristiano Ronaldo made the start, his ex-Real colleague Karim Benzema (35) followed him. The fact that the Arab world is attracting older football stars is nothing new. Pep Guardiola (then 32), Stefan Effenberg (35), Gabriel Batistuta (34), Raul (35) or Mario Basler (35) moved to Qatar many years ago.
But what’s different now compared to back then: It’s not just the late 30s who are drawn to Arabia. Most recently, the Saudi Arabian league surprised with the transfer of the 26-year-old Ruben Neves (Wolverhampton) or Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (28) von Lazio Rom. Das Ex-Chelsea-Trio N’Golo Kante – The Best Of N’Golo Kante (32), Edward Mendy (31) and Kalidou Koulibaly (32) will also be playing in Saudi Arabia from next season, as will the ex-Liverpool star Roberto Firmino (31).
But the same will probably apply to Saudi Arabia as to the leagues in the USA, China or India. Attention, it increases briefly as part of the transfers made. Before and after that, however, world football events are determined in Europe. A shift in the balance of power is not (yet) in sight, even with the numerous sums in the millions.
2023-07-17 03:39:20
#USA #China #Saudi #Arabia #expensive #attempt #compete #Europe #world #football
